1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a socket, especially to a socket adapted for electrically connecting an IC (integrated Circuit) package to a printed circuit board.
2. Description of the Related Art
To electrically connect to a printed circuit board, an IC (integrated Circuit) package usually need a socket disposed between the IC package and the printed circuit board and electrically connecting with the IC package and the printed circuit board, respectively, for transferring signals between the IC package and the printed circuit board.
A BGA (Ball Grid Array) socket is most popular in those sockets, U.S. Pat. No. 6,688,893 discloses such a socket, which usually comprises an insulative housing and a plurality of contacts received in the insulative housing. The insulative housing has a first surface and a second surface and defines a plurality of receiving cavities passing through the first and the second surfaces, and each receiving cavity receives two opposite disposed contacts. The contact is formed with a retaining portion retained to the insulative housing, a soldering portion extending from an end of the retaining portion, a bending portion extending from another end of the retaining portion away from the soldering portion and an elastic arm extending from the bending portion. The manner of putting two contacts in a same receiving cavity can reduce a pitch between adjacent contacts to improve contact density of the socket. However, there is a risk of short circuit between the two contacts, so the receiving cavity of the insulative housing must be designed with a complex configuration.
Hence, an improved socket is required to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art.